
Glass. 
Book. 



.L-ai 



SERMON 

ON THE DEATH 05'" 




resihiit ITiitrffln 

PREACHED m THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 
OF ROOTSTOWN, . . 

By Rev. E.E.LAMB, 

Sahhath Jllomzizg, ■fip-nlS3, 1&6&. 



[published by request.] 



TEXT — iBt Samuel, 1st Chapter, 25th Verse.— "How are the mighty fallen in the midst of 
trftttle 1 O Jonathan thou wast slain in thy high places." 

There is mourning in the nation's capital. There is sorrow 
in the nation's heart. A mighty grief rests upon us. The 
crown has fallen from our heads. The true, the noble, and 
the great has gone. But yesterday the nation's heart was full 
of joy — to-day our speechless souls refuse their wonted conso- 
lation. But yesterday hope plumed her wings on all our 
mountains — to-day the murmur of sorrow wails through all 
our valleys. But yesterday peace with her attendant angels 
appeared in mid-heaven — but to-day clouds are wrapped 
around her feet. But yesterday men were divided in their 
opinipn — to-day the iron of anguish has fused all hearts. 
But yesterday the nation's heart was magnanimous — to-day 
vengeance has come down from the Lord of hosts, and where 
.men walked a few days ago with buoyant steps and hearts of 
mercy, now strong men walk with clenched fists and hearts of 
steel. One short whisper has revolutionized this whole land. 
God spoke, and we stood still. And why this change? Abra- 






jam Lincoln is dead ! The chosen of God M'as slain in his 
high places. Onr Moses who has led us through these four 
wilderness years, has been summoned of God, and now the 
whole nation stands in tearful agouy around the mount whith- 
er his feet have goiie up. Our joy and our sorrow stand side 
by side in the great book of God. The cloud of incense all 
radiant with light, had a fringe of sackcloth. It was a dark 
morning that saw our President die. The heavens were weep- 
ing. The sun bid himself in shadows, and the angel who 
bore his great spirit aloft was nmffled in clouds. Fit emblem 
of those mightier shadows which rested upon our hearts. 
Strong type of those holier tears which Avereshed by a loving 
and noble people. 

The people's President and friend is dead, and it is proper 
In the calm light of tliis holy Sabbath that' we call to mind 
the lessons of his life and death. Mr. Lincoln was most hear- 
tily a man of the people. Educated not in lordly halls, sur- 
rounded not with wealth and refinement Taken from the 
cii'cle of no hereditary greatness, he was cradled in the bosom 
of poverty. He was ti-ained in the rough school of adversity. 
His hands were made to Avork — his mind was made to think. 
He had just that elementary training necessary to fit him to 
be a guide in our night of danger. In those master struggles 
with poverty, his mind was prepared to lead the destinies of 
a struggling nation. Adversity is the school of greatness. 
Great minds are rocked in tbe hammock of the storms. The 
leaders of grand developments need this strong prej^aration. 
It is the school of God. Contending in youth with obstacles, 
ribs the heart with oak. All successful leaders of revolutions 
have been thus educated. Moses, God's chosen, must go into 
the wilderness for many years, to get the necessary discipline 
to withstand the trials before him. Christ was born in the 
manger — he Avandered on the mountains, that he might go in 
joy to his triumphant death. God prepares His own leaders. 
He commissions His own Captains. Angels of God stand 
around the cradle of those men whose feet are to bring good 
tidings. 



3 

Mr. Lincoln, whether splitting rails, or rowing a boat against 
tlie tide, or poring over some old grammar by the fireside, 
was preparing himself unconsciously for his great commission. 
His liands, hardened by toil, were being fitted to hold a world. 
The crown of God vx-^as shining from afar above his head. 
Was he splitting rails? — it was that his riglit arm might split 
in pieces the gigantic power of slavery. Was he rowing a 
fiat-boat against the turgid waters of the Mississippi? — itw^as 
that he might row us succcf-sfully against the billows of this 
seething rebellion. His early toils were an earnest of his fu- 
ture greatness. Mr. Lincoln, coming from tlie people, had the 
instincts of tlie people. lie knew us in c\ery part. He was 
(puck to understand the heart of the nation. And when our 
hearts beat, his beat with them. So quick were liis seiisibili- 
ties, that he seemed almost to hear our secret prayers for him. 
'No sooner had our laintest Avish become an earnest hope, be- 
fore he seized upon it as a guiding principle. Hence he was 
a safe man. For the instincts of a Christian people are al- 
most always right. God's providences bring an inspiration. 
And who shall catch that inspiration but Christian hearts ? Li 
times of great calamity the breathings of this inspiration in 
Christian souls are the voice of God. He that folloAvs them, 
cannot go far astray. Mr. LincrJn followed them. He threw 
himself upon the Christian sentiment. '' Pray for me," was 
his first i^roclamation to the American people. It was the 
key-note of his reign. He could not be otherwise than a safe 
man. For a man walks wdth firm step wliose pathway is car- 
peted with prayer. Mr. Lincoln knew this. He knew that 
;;he twin angels of Faith and Hope staid up his hands. His 
great soul was exalted amid crushing responsibilities, for amid 
the darkest hours he slept on pilloM^s of praj^er. Such was his 
faith in the people, that he went no farther than tlieir dictation. 
Hence he was a slow man. He believed in Democracy. He 
trusted in the heart of the Eepublic. He believed that there 
were righteous men enough to save us. He felt that God was 
greater than he— and that the spirit of freedom, born of our 
mountains, and nursed by our water-com-ses, was miconquera- 



ble. Standing in such reverence of the ix-.jple, and with head 
uncovered before God, his career has seemed slow. We were- 
impatient at his delaj. But ah, his slowness was our salva- 
tion. God was gathering up His truth^ and pourhig it into 
his soul. God was a long time in whetting His sword of jus- 
tice, before He put it in Abraham Lincoln's hand, but when 
He had put it there, it was keen as burnished lightning. Be- 
fore the car of our salvation moved, the track was sreased 
with tears. But when it did move, the track was torn up be- 
hind it. Standing on the mount of regeneration to-day — • 
bathed in heaven's own light— we can now judge of events. 
God's arm is now uncovered, and we can see it holding the 
President back. He was slow to move, but when he did 
move, heaven with hallelujahs rang. When he did move, he 
took the ages with him. When he did move, it was done. 
He took no steps backwards, for there was no need ot" it. 
Great issues went forth from his month. But he Mould not 
retract. The millstone of war could not grind out a confes- 
sion. Planted on the faith of the people, aiKl the truth of 
God, he was immovable as the solid hills. Whatever may be 
said of Mr. Lincoln's abilities, he will be classed with the 
great statesmen of the world. ISTot because of his eloquence. 
Not because he has convulsed Senates by his magic powers. 
But because of his pure spiritual insight. He grasped with a 
firm conviction the issues of this war. He saw with a clear 
vision the tiiith involved. Not that he comprehended the 
greatness of the war at the beginning. What mortal man 
did ? Foiu- years ago, as the heavens nmttered thunder, and 
the earth reeled with uncertain force — as this gigantic rebel- 
lion stood before us armed with terror — ^^who measured its 
power? Wlio counted the tears that should fall to (piench its 
thirst? Who numbered the heroes that should fall before it? 
Blame not Mr. Lincoln for not forecasting the magnitude of 
the war. God had it in His fists. None but a prophetic 
tongue of flame could have foretold it. The whole nation 
stood before the appalling reality speechless. The terrors of 



Siuui were about ns, and God came down clotlied in darkness. 
At that hour wlieii men st(jod trembling, and reason was dumb 
before the surging passions of the nation, our President saw 
Avith an angel's eye the truth. Although he measured not the 
greatness, yet he did comprehend the cm/se of the war. — 
Through n\\ his acts he held fast to the righteousness of the 
struggle. He saw God, in the fight. So deep was the spirit- 
uality of his acts, that he secured the highest sympathy of 
good men. Ills voice was the voice of Jacob. His language 
was the language of Canaan. Hence he was the church's 
President. The church of every name gathered about him, 
as about the chosen of God. Good men loved him. Kext to 
the name of the dear boy in the army, his name would be 
whispered in the silent closet. Heaven is full of prayer for 
him. If God had annointed him King in the presence of the 
universe, we could not have loved him more. On this account 
he was hated of bad men. All of the malignity 23recipitated 
by this M^ar rose uj3 against him. The filth and scum of our 
cities were ready to mob him. Assassins stood ready to miu*- 
der him. He was the best loved and best hated man in the 
world. Mr. Lincoln did nothing to arouse such a storm of 
hate, only because he did right. So manly and true was he, 
that sin flamed before him. It was an honor for any man to 
be hated by such men. Let it be written on his tomb, " Here 
lies a man whom the devil hated." He needs no mightier eu- 
logy. He needs no better immortality. Such was Mr. Lin- 
coln's spiritual sagacity, that he was almost always right. In 
a period of most dire confusion, when there were no precedents 
to go by — when there M^as no certainty for the future — when 
the nation was groaning in death — when mighty armies were 
contending in the grip of death — when mighty and untried 
principles were to be established — at such an hour, when the 
heads of old statesmen were giddy with confusion, then it was 
that our simple minded President led forth like a stalwart 
warrior. He struck out into new and untried paths. He 
made bold strokes. He set forth new, yet majestic principles. 
He difiered with his Cabinet. He differed with Congress;' 



lie differed witli the wisest men of tlie nation, and yet Al^ra 
liani Lincoln was most always riglit. The sec^nel is, he was ai 
honest man. He cared not for self. Tie followed one singh 
honest purpose. The coin'ictions of his heart were his revel 
ations from God. His convictions of right were his star o 
Ilethleliem that guided him ^vhere the Son of God lay. His 
eye was single, and his ^vhole body was full of light. Hence 
Mr. Lincoln was a gr(twing man. He was always open to 
conviction. He treasured up the lessons of the war. He be- 
lieved that God had something to say in this contest, and he 
waited reverently to hear. And he did hear. 'No man in the 
nation grew faster than he. His first message Avas an appeal 
to the nation, his last was an appeal to God. No such words 
had ever been uttered by a President before, as the last mes- 
sage of Mr. Lincoln. They were ])enned beneath the throne 
of God. In the eyes of ^vorklly wisdom liis course may seem 
childish. It is considere<l folly for a great mind to change. 
But fools are unchangeable. Wisdom plumes her wings for a 
new flight every morning. It is the healthy tree that gets a 
fresh start every time that God's Spring passes over it. It is 
the dead tree that stands the same from year to year, and puts 
forth no leaves to catch sunbeams. It is true nobility to open 
the heart towards God. Mr. Lincoln opened his soul toward 
God. He was <piiclv as a child to repent when wrong, but he 
was innnutable, when right. He was ready to act upon new 
convictions. He had a heart that was profoundly impressed 
by the lessons of the Avar. Hence he was a type of oiu" higher 
manhood — of a new order of men. This war has elevated the 
whole nation. And the President was a fit representative of 
our exaltation. Mr. Lincoln was l)y nature opposed to slavery. 
He had felt its debasing power. He had seen its withering 
blight. He had breathed tlie unchained air of our broad 
prairies. By his own right arm he had Avrought out his own 
manhood. B3' the strength of a stalwart purpose he had writ- 
ten liigh his name, where God says, " This is a man." He 
rejoiced in his own liberty. He knew Avhat there was in man. 
With such a trahung, and with such instincts, he was just the 



nitiu to understand the contest with slavery. Had he beer 
raised in affluence, liberty would have been to him only a the 
ory. He would not have felt its glory. Eut nowlih.eriy was 
welded into his heart. It ran in his veins. Its nmsic thrilled 
his soul. He was prepared to fight oppression. And well did 
he do it. He scented it in the smoke of battle. He hunted 
it, as if thirsting for its blood. To successfully combat error, 
some of its iron nuist have entered our souls. We must have 
known it. Men don't fight well for a bare theory. But O ! 
the reality makes them terrible. The Lord of glory "was not 
exempt from this great princi]3le. That He might subdue all 
things unto Himself, He took hold of sin. He passed for a 
little time under its dominion, as the sun hides in clouds, only 
to come out radiant with victory. Christ tasted of death, that 
he might disenthrall man from its dominion. It took a Luther 
who had felt all tlie folly and blas])hemy of Popery, to strike 
it to the heart. ISTo other man conld have thundered so loudly 
in the gates of hell. ISTo other man could have sent it (juiver- 
ing to its death. It takes a Napoleon to govern France. He 
is called the man of destiny. Aristocrrt Kings could not hold 
the reins of power. But ^Napoleon can. He was educated in 
prison. He li\ed with the common people. He knows what 
France needs; he has got hold of her heart. Hence he knows 
how to make destiny. It takes a Gc)Ugh tc) lay open the horrors 
of intemperance. He has the key to the drunkard's dungeon. 
It was made out of his own blood. The darkness and the 
terror, the tremors and the demons are all known to him; 
hence his tongue flashes the reality. He dips his pen in his 
own soul. It takes a Browidow to deal with slavery. He 
knows it. Its mold and its curee rest upon him. Its eternal 
blight broods throuiiii all his \)em<y. Let him curse it, let 
him slay it; he is only bringing forth fruits meet for repent- 
ance. Those are the most terrible avengers which a wicked 
canse itself produces. But it took Abraham Lincoln to sub- 
due slavery. Springing from the noble yeomanry of our land, 
liearing the birds singing their sweet songs of liberty, he was 
God's chosen avenger. His free and noble spirit was not the 



8 

spirit ot our cities. Cities are most always oppressive. The 
air of ignorance and corruption mingle in the atmosphere of 
cities. Mr. Lincoln had no foreign element in his heart. He 
caught his inspiration from our institutions. His spirit was 
the spirit of om- mountains, the spirit of our prairies, the spirit 
of om- lakes and rivers, the spirit of our storms ! Free, grand- 
ly free and glorious. He was a genuine American. The same 
spirit of freedom is born of the plow and the hammer. The 
^nvil, the hammer, and the axe ring the death knell of tyr- 
anny. Nothing a tyrant so iimch fears as tlie calloused hand 
•of a freeman. It was not then so much the President that 
signed the death-warrant of slavery as the spirit of freemen 
acting through him-. He blew the trumpet with the nation's 
breath. The very air we breathed demanded its destruction, 
and God said " amen." Mr. Lincoln was one of the people. 
His great, good heart the people felt. Mutual sympathy made 
us mutual friends. In the darkest hour the people turned to 
him with the firmest confidence. They looked to " Father 
Abraham " with implicit trust. His name like a skillful hand 
evoked harmony from all the nobler chords of our being. He 
had called tor great sacrifices from us. He had demanded 
•our heart's treasures. By his order the jewel has been pluck- 
ed from many households. But he only took our jewels that 
he might perfect the diadem of the nation. He picked our 
roses that he might present to God our country's glorious 
wreath of immortelles. Those who sacrificed the most, loved 
him the most. The brave old soldier shouted above his camp 
fire, " God bless Abraham Lincoln." The wounded hero, 
writhing in his pains, prayed, " God bless Abraham Lincoln," 
and the lone widow, checking her tears, took up the same 
prayer. His homely name became a magic word. It called 
forth clieers wherever spoken. It became an emblem of our 
nation's glory. He had carried away the largest half of the 
nation's heart. Such affection does sorrow forge. We cannot 
forget those who walk with us in the vale of shadows. An- 
gels bind om- hearts with gold when we suffer together. In 
tin's long night of our woe he went with us. In this furnace 



..LINCOLN.. 



f^ 1^ M*' i4^ ^ti' ^ti^ ^4i^ 
^ ^*^ ^*^ j^lJflKN| ^IS- its- ;iM 

t!i|> ^ili- ^4> ^^5^^ ^tJ- «> it^ 
;4i' ;i>*5' ;4> ;4> ;i>13' :!4J' :ilJ' 



eOM PI LED BY 

EDWARD S. JOHNSON 

eosTODinN 



..1903.. 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

-- AND HIS -i ^^ 

LAST RESTING PLACE. 




A LEAFLET PUBLISHED FOR DISTRIBUTION 

...AT THE... 

NATIONAL LINCOLN MONUMENT 

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS. 






The Life of Abraham Lincoln has been written by many men 
in many tongues. 

The resources of rhetoric and eloquence have been exhausted in 
their portrayal of this character that however viewed holds a lesson 
for all mankind. 

In this brief space and for the purpose which this leaflet is designed 
to serve, the simple homely details of the martyred President's early 
Hfe could not be better told than in his own words. No polished recital 
could be so prized by the great multitude who hold his memory dear 
as this transcript of a letter written in 1859 to his friend the Hon. 
Jesse W. Fell of Bloomington, Illinois : 



• Gift 

'07 



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Abraham Lincoln little thought as he penned the words, "What I 
have done since then is pretty well known," that a world would one 
day listen enthralled to the tale of what he had done and should do in 
the decade from 1855 ^o 1865. 

In 1854 the repeal of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 opened a 
new political era, and an agitation of the slavery question was begim 
which was destined to grow until the shackles were struck forever from 
the hands of the slave. 

By this repeal slavery claimed protection everywhere; it sought to 
nationalize itself. At this time the question of "popular sovereignty" 
arose, the right of the people of a territory to choose their own institu- 
tions, and upon this question Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Douglas fought the 
"battle of the giants," and Mr. Lincoln's signal abiHty as an orator 
was forever established. He became at once the leader of his party in 
the West and the foremost champion of the liberties of the oppressed. 

In a private letter, written at this time, Mr. Lincoln defines his 
position on the great question of the day as follows: 

"I acknowledge your rights and my obligations under the consti- 
tution in regard to your slaves. I confess I hate to see the poor crea- 
tures hunted down and caught and carried back to their stripes and 
unrequited toil, but I keep quiet. You ought to appreciate how much 
the great body of the people of the North crucify their feelings in order 
to maintain their loyalty to the Constitution and the Union. I do 
oppose the extension of slavery because my judgment and feelings so 
prompt me, and I am under no obligations to the contrary. As a na- 
tion we; began by declaring 'all men are created equal.' We now prac- 
tically read it, 'all men are created equal except negroes.' When it 
comes to making wholesale exceptions I should prefer emigrating to 
-some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty, where 
despotism can be taken pure without the base alloy of hypocrisy. 

Your friend, 

A. Lincoln." 

May 29, 1856, the Republican party of Illinois was organized, and 
he was now the leader of a party whose avowed purpose it was to re- 
sist the extension of slavery. At the national convention his name 
was presented as a candidate for vice-president. He did not receive 
the required number of votes, but the action was complimentary and 
served as Mr. Lincoln's formal introduction to the nation. 

The senatorial campaign of 1858 in Illinois was memorable for the 
questions involved and for the debates between Douglas and Lincoln 
upon the great issues that were even then distracting the nation. 
When these two met in intellectual combat the nation paused to listen. 
"The eyes of all the eastern states were turned to the west where young 
republicanism and old democracy were establishing the dividing lines 
and preparing for the great struggle soon to begin. 

To say that Mr. Lincoln was the victor in the contest morally and 
intellectually is simply to record the judgment of the world. 




1901 BY GUV R MATHIS 




PQ 

o 

Eh 

o 



His speeches were clear, logical, powerful and exhaustive. On 
these his reputation as an orator and debator rest. Thej' defined the 
difference between the power of slavery and the policy of freedom 
which ended, after expenditures of uncounted treasure and unmeasured 
blood, in the final overthrow of the institution of slavery. 

Mr. Ivincoln was defeated in this campaign and Mr. Douglas was 
returned to the Senate, but Mr. Lincoln was now thoroughly committed 
to politics. In 1859 and i860 he journeyed in the Eastern states, 
making speeches that thrilled and electrified the audiences which he 
had expected to find cold and critical. 

The mutterings of secession already filled the land. The spirit of 
unrest and rebellion was gaining ground, but wherevei the voice of 
Lincoln was heard it was pleading for union, for peace, for the Consti- 
tution, deprecating the evils of slavery as it existed and protesting 
against its extension into free states and territories. 

His was the voice of one crying in the wil4erness, warning the 
men of the North and the South that a house divided against itself 
cannot stand. On the i6th of June, i860, Mr. Lincoln received the 
nomination of the republican convention held at Chicago for President 
of the United States. How this plain, comparatively unknown Illinois 
lawyer was chosen in this critical hour before a man like Seward, with 
his wide experience and acquaintance, his large influence and surpass- 
ing ability, his name and fame of thirty years standing, must be re- 
garded as the guiding of that Providence that had brooded over the 
life of the republic since it declared itself to be the home of the free, 
the refuge of the oppressed. On the 6th of November Mr. Lincoln 
was elected, by a handsome plurality. President of the United States. 

At eight o'clock Monday morning, February 11, 1861, Mr. Lin- 
coln left Springfield for the National Capital to enter upon his duties 
as President. With these simple words he took leave of his friends 
and neighbors: 

"My friends: No one not in my position can appreciate the sad- 
ness I feel at this parting. To this people I owe all that I am. Here 
I have lived more than a quarter of a century; here m}- children were 
born, and here one of them lies buried. I know not how soon I shall 
see you again. A dut}^ devolves upon me which is perhaps greater 
than that which has devolved upon any other man since the days of 
Washington. He never would have succeeded except by the aid of 
Divine Providence, upon which he at all times relied. I feel that I 
cannot succeed without the same Divine aid which sustained him, and 
on the same Almighty Being I place mj^ reliance for support, and I 
hope you, my friends, will all pray that I may receive that Divine as- 
sistance without which I cannot succeed but with which success is 
certain. Again I bid you an affectionate farewell." 

These proved to be his last words to Springfield auditors. 

■ The result of this election pleased and united the North while it 
angered the South. To the more thoughtful men of both parties a crisis 
seemed imminent. The southern states immediately seceded; the 
Southern Confederacy was formed with Jefferson Davis as President; 



lO 

forts and arsenals were seized and the war of the rebelHon fairly in- 
augurated. It was this disrupted Union, this all but shattered govern- 
ment, which waited for the man who upon the 4th day of March, i86i, 
took the oath of office and became the President of the United States. 

The closing words of his memorable inaugural address must have 
convinced his listeners of the wisdom, the strength, the gentleness of 
this new incumbent of the chair of State: 

"In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in 
mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not 
assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the 
aggressors. You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the 
government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, pro- 
tect and defend it. I am loth to close. We are not enemies, but 
friends. The mystic cords of memory, stretching from every battle- 
field and patriot grave to everj^ living heart and hearthstone all over 
this broad land will yet swell the chorus of the Union when again 
touched, as they surely will be, by the better angels of our nature." 

With infinite patience and unequaled forbearance and sagacity, 
Mr. Lincoln strove to avert war, but when, on April 12, 1861, the rebel 
batteries were opened upon Fort Sumpter, forbearance was no longer 
possible, and, on the 15th day of April, the pen that had only been 
used to counsel moderation, to urge loyalty, penned a proclamation 
calling for seventy-five thousand men and the Civil War was begun. 
The popular government had been called an experiment. Two points 
of the experiment had already been settled: The government had been 
established and it had been administered. One point remained to be 
established: Its successful maintenance against a formidable internal 
attempt to overthrow it. Congress ably supported Mr. Lincoln. It 
placed at his disposal iKe million dollars and gave him liberty to call 
out half a million men. During all the years of that long, sad war 
there were loyal hearts among his admirers that held up the hands of 
their President, but the crowning personality, the strong, pervading, 
directing, controlling spirit was that of Abraham Lincoln, whether 
watching the progress of events from his almost beleagured capital or 
while visiting and mingling with his army at the front. 

Never for a moment did he lay aside his personal responsibility. 
Never did he swerve from his resolve, expressed in the words of his 
memorable speech at the dedication of the soldiers' graves at Gettys- 
burg: 

' ' We have come to dedicate a portion of this field as a final resting 
place for those who here gave their lives that the nation might live. 
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we 
cannot hallow this ground. The brave men living and dead who 
struggled here have consecrated it far beyond our power to add or de- 
tract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, 
but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, 
rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who 
fought here have so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here 
dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these hon- 
ored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave 
the last full measure of devotion, that we here highly resolve that these 




O 



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O 

J 
i-t 

<1 




O 

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dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall 
have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by 
the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth." 

The story of the war and the life of Lincoln are inseparable. The 
recital of all those years of marching, camping, fighting, of wounds, 
privations, victory, defeat and death cannot be made without the story 
of lyincoln interwoven into its warp and woof. The days fraught with 
the grave issues of the war went by, victory alternating with defeat 
until, in the judgment of the commander-in-chief, the time had come 
to emancipate the colored race, ^j,^ 

Early in August of 1 86^ President Lincoln called a meeting of 
his Cabinet and submitted for their consideration the original draft of J^ 
his Emancipation Proclamation. On the ist day of January, i864rf1v[r. "^ 
Lincoln issued the final Proclamation of Emancipation, bringing free- ^S, 
dom to four million of slaves and removing forever from the land he 
loved the blot of slavery. 

It seemed fitting that to this man who had blazed the way through 
the wilderness for this cause, who had brooded and smarted under the 
sense of the sin of slavery from his early untaught youth, who in 
clarion tones had declared, at the outset of his career, that he "would 
speak for freedom against slavery until everywhere in all this broad 
land the sun shall shine, the rain shall fall and the wind shall blow 
upon no man who goes forth to unrequited toil." It was meet that 
from his lips should fall the words that made four million men free, 
and it is in consonance with the character of the great Emancipator 
that in this supreme moment of his life he reverently invoked upon 
that act "the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor 
of Almighty God." 

The latter part of the year 1863 was marked by the success of 
Union armies. The Republican National Convention assembled in 
Baltimore, June 8, 1864, unanimously nominated Mr. Lincoln as their 
candidate for President. His words accepting this nomination were 
characteristic: 

"Having served four years in the depths of a great and yet un- 
ended national peril, I can view this call to a second term in no wise 
more flattering to myself than as an expression of the public judgment 
that I may better finish a difficult work than could any one less severely 
schooled to the task. In this view, and with assured reliance on that 
Almighty Ruler who has so graciously sustained us thus far, and with 
increased gratitude to the generous people for their continued con- 
fidence, I accept the renewed trust with its yet onerous and perplexing 
duties and responsibilities." 

During the height of the canvass President Lincoln issued a call 
for five hundred thousand men, also making provisions for a draft if 
necessary. His friends feared that this measure might cost him his 
election, but he waived that aside as he always did personal considera- 
tion that might conflict with duty. 

November came, and with it Mr. Lincoln's re-election. His sec- 
ond election proved the death blow to the rebellion. From that time 
the Southern armies never gained a substantial victory. When the 



12 

Thirty-Kighth Congress assembled December 6, 1864, President lyin- 
coin recommended an amendment to the Constitution making human 
slavery forever impossible in the United States. 

The joint resolutions for the extinction of slavery passed Congress 
and received the signature of the President January 31, 1865. The 
legislature of Illinois, being then in session, took up the question at 
once and in less than twentj'-four hours after its passage by Congress 
Mr. lyincoln had the satisfaction of receiving a telegram from his old home 
announcing the fact that the constitutional amendment had been rati- 
fied by both houses of the legislature of his own state February i , 1865. 
The action of the legislatures of other states soon followed, and thus 
was completed and confirmed the work of the proclamation of emanci- 
pation. 

Upon the 4th of March, 1865, Mr. Lincoln was for the second 
time inaugurated, President of the United States. His inaugural ad- 
dress upon that occasion has become a classic'. Its closing words have 
been quoted wherever the foot of an American has strayed beneath the 
sun. "Fondly do we hope, reverently do we pray that this mighty 
scourge of war may speedily pass away, yet, if God wills that it con- 
tinue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and 
fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of 
blood drawn by the lash shall be paid by another drawn by the sword, 
as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, the judg- 
ments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. With malice 
toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God 
gives us to see the right, let us strive to finish the work we are in, to 
bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the 
battle, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace 
among ourselves and with all nations." 

The closing scenes of the war were being enacted in quick succes- 
sion. Richmond had fallen, and on the 4th day of April, just one 
month after his second inauguration. President Lincoln, leading his 
little son by the hand, entered the vanquished city on foot. Never 
has the world ssen a more modest conqueror, a more characteristic 
triumphal procession. No army with banners and drums, only a few 
of those who had been slaves escorting the victorious chief with bene- 
dictions and tears into the capital of the fallen foe. 

A few more days brought the surrender of Lee's army and peace 
was assured. Everywhere festive guns were booming, bells pealing, 
churches ringing with thanksgivings. 

The 14th of April was the anniversary of the fall of Sumpter. 
President Lincoln had ordered that day to be signalized by restoring 
the old flag to its place on the shattered ramparts of Fort Sumpter. 
He ordered the same faithful hands that pulled it down to raise it — 
every battery that fired upon it should salute it. Said the Rev. Henry 
Ward Beecher upon that occasion: "From this pulpit of broken stone 
we send to the President of the United States our solemn congratula- 
tions that God has sustained his life and health under the unparalleled 
hardships and suffering of four bloody years and permitted him to be- 
hold this auspicious consummation of that national unity for which he 
has labored with such disinterested wisdom." 




'^'WHWh^*' 



13 

But, before the kindly words had flashed over the telegraph wires 
to the ears of the patient man in whose honor they were spoken, the 
bullet of the assassin had done its work. The sad words, "I feel a 
presentiment that I shall not outlast the rebellion; when it is over my 
work will be done," were verified, and all civilized mankind stood 
mourning around the bier of the dead President. Then began that 
unparalleled funeral procession, a mournful pageant, passing country 
and village and city, winding along the territories of vast states along 
a track of fifteen hundred miles, carrying the revered dead back to his 
own people, to the scenes of his early life, back to the prairies of Illi- 
nois. Said Beecher in his eloquent and touching funeral oration: 

"Four years ago, oh, Illinois, we took from your midst an untried 
man from among the people. Behold! we return to you a mighty con- 
queror, not ours any more, but the nation's. Not ours but the world's. 
Give him place, oh ye prairies. In the midst of this great continent 
his dust shall rest, a sacred treasure to the myriads who shall come 
as pilgrims to that shrine to kindle anew their zeal and patriotism. 
Humble child of the backwoods, boatman, hired laborer, clerk, sur- 
veyor, captain, legislator, lawyer, debator, politician, orator, states- 
man, president, saviour of the republic, true Christian, true man. We 
receive thy life and its immeasurably great results as the choicest gifts 
that have ever been bestowed upon us; grateful to thee for thy truth 
to thyself, to us and to God; and grateful to that ministry of Provi- 
dence which endowed thee so richly and bestowed thee upon the nation 
and mankind." 

THE MONUMENT. 

The body of Abraham Lincoln was deposited in the receiving 
vault at Oak Ridge cemetery May 4, 1865. 

Upon the nth of May, 1865, the National Lincoln Monument 
Association was formed, its object being to construct a monument tO' 
the memory of Abraham Lincoln in the city of Springfield, 111. 

The names of the gentlemen comprising the Lincoln Monument 
Association in 1865 were as follows: 

Gov. Richard Oglesby, Sharon Tyndai^e, 

Origin H. Miner, Thomas J. Dennis, 

John T. Stuart, Newton Bateman, 

Jesse K. Dubois, S. H. Treat, 

James C. Conkeing, O. M. Hatch, 

John Williams, S. H. Meevin, 

Jacob Bunn, James H. Beveridge, 
David L. Phillips. 

The temporary vault was built and the body of President Lincoln 
removed from the receiving vault of the cemetery on December 2 1 , 
1865. The body was placed in the crypt of the monument September 
19, 1 87 1, and was placed in the sarcophagus in the center of the cata- 
comb October 9, 1874. 

Owing to the instability of the earth under its foundations and its 
unequal settling the structure had begun to .show signs of disintegra- 
tion, neccessitating taking it down and rebuilding it from the founda- 
tion. The work was begun by Col. J. S. Culver in Nov., 1899, and 
finished June i, 1901. A cemented vault was made beneath the floor 



14 

of the catacomb directl)^ underneath the sarcophagus and in this vault 
the body of President Lincoln was placed Sept. 26, 1901, where it will 
probably remain undisturbed forever. 

The monument is built of brick and Quincy granite, the latter 
material only appearing in view. It consists of a square base 72 J^ feet 
on each side and 15 feet, 10 inches high. At the north side of the 
base is a semi-circular projection, the interior of which has a radius of 
12 feet. It is the vestibule of the catacomb, and gives access to view 
the crypts in which are placed the bodies of Mr. Lincoln's wife and 
sons and his grandson, Abraham Lincoln, son of Hon. Robert T. Lin- 
coln, On the south side of the base is another semi-circular projection 
of the same size, but this is continued .into the base so as to produce a 
room of elliptical shape, which is called Memorial Hall. Thus the 
base measures, including these two projections, 119^^ feet from north 
to south and 72^ feet from east to west. In the angles formed by the 
addition of these two projections are handsome flights of stone steps, 
two on each end. These steps are protected by granite balustrades, 
which extend completely around the top of the base, which forms a 
terrace. From the plane of this terrace rises the obelisk, or die, which 
is 28 feet, 4 inches high from the ground, and tapered to 1 1 feet square 
■at the top. At the angles of this die are four pedestals of 1 1 feet di- 
ameter, rising 12^ feet above the plane of the terrace. This obelisk, 
including the area occupied by the pedestals, is 41 feet square, while 
from the obelisk rises the shaft, tapering to 8 feet square at the sum- 
mit. Upon the four pedestals stand the four bronze groups, represent- 
ing the four arms of the service — infantry, cavalry, artillery and navy. 
Passing around the whole obelisk and pedestal is a band or chain of 
shields, each representing a state, the name of which is carved upon it. 
At the south side of the obelisk is a square pedestal, 7 feet high, sup- 
porting the statue of Lincoln, the pedestal being ornamented with the 
•coat of arms of the United States. This coat of arms, in the position 
it occupies on the monument, is intended to typify the constitution of 
the United States. Mr. Lincoln's statue on the pedestal above it marks 
the whole an illustration of his position at the outbreak of the rebellion. 
He took his stand on the constitution as his authority for using the 
four arms of the war power of the government, the infantry, cavalry, 
artillery and navy, to hold together the states which are represented 
still lower on the monument b}' a cordon of tablets linking them to- 
gether in a perpetual bond of union. 

The money used in the original construction of this handsome 
monument came from the people by voluntary contributions. The first 
■entry made by the treasurer of the association was May 8, 1865, and 
was from Isaac Reed, of New York, $100. Then came contributions 
from Sunday schools, lodges, army associations, individuals and states. 
The Seventy-Third Regiment, United States colored troops, at New 
Orleans, contributed $1,437, a greater amount than was given by any 
other individual or organization except the State of Illinois. Many 
pages of the record are filled with the contributions from the Sunday 
schools of the land, and of the 5,145 entries, 1,697 ^^^ from Sunday 
schools. The largest part of the money was contributed in 1865, but 
it continued to come to the treasurer from all parts of the country until 



15 
1871. About $8, ooo was contributed by the colored soldiers of the 
United States army. Only three states made appropriations for this 
fund — Illinois, $50,000; Missouri, $1,000 and Nevada $500. 

The monument was dedicated October 15, 1874, the occasion be- 
ing signalized by a tremendous outpouring of the people, the oration 
commemorative of the life and public services of the great emancipator 
being delivered by Governor Richard J. Oglesby. President Grant 
also spoke briefly on that occasion, and a poem was read by James 
Judson Lord. 

The monument was built after the accepted designs of Larkin G. 
Mead, of Florence, Italy, and stands upon an eminence in Oak Ridge 
cemetery, occupying about nine acres of ground. Ground was broken 
on the site September 10, 1869, in the presence of 3,000 persons. The 
capstone was placed in position on May 22, 1871. 

In July, 1 87 1, citizens of Chicago, through Hon. J. Young Scam- 
mon, contributed $13,700 to pay for the Infantry group of statuary. 
In the city of New York, under the leadership of Gov. E. D. Morgan, 
137 gentlemen subscribed and paid $100 each, amounting to $13,700, 
for the Naval group. 

Of the four groups of statuary, the Naval Group was the first 
completed. This group represents a scene on the deck of a gunboat. 
The mortar is poised ready for action; the gunner has rolled up a shell 
ready for firing; the boy, or powder monkey, climbs to the highest 
point and is peering into the distance; the officer in command is about 
to examine the situation through his telescope. 

The Infantry group was the next to reach Springfield. Both these 
groups were placed in position on the monument in September, 1877. 
The Infantry group represents an officer, a private soldier and a drum- 
mer, with arms and accoutrements, marching in expectation of battle. 
The officer in command raises the flag with one hand and, pointing to 
the enemy with the other, orders a charge. The private with the 
musket, as the representative of the whole line, is in the act of execut- 
ing the charge. The drummer boy has become excited, lost his cap, 
thrown away his haversack and drawn a revolver to take part in the 
conflict . 

The Artillery group represents a piece of artillery in battle. The 
enemy has succeeded in directing a shot so w^ell as to dismount the gun. 
The officer in command mounts his disabled piece and with drawn 
saber fronts the enemy. The youthful soldier, with uplifted hands, 
is horrified at the havoc around him. The wounded and prostrate 
soldier wears a look of intense agony. 

The Cavalry group, consisting of two human figures and a horse, 
represents a battle scene. The horse, from whose back the rider has 
just been thrown, is frantically rearing. The wounded and dying 
trumpeter, supported by a comrade, is bravely facing death. Each of 
these groups cost $13,700. 

The statue of Mr. Eincoln stands on a pedestal projecting from 
the south side of the obelisk. This is the central figure in the group, 
or series of groups. As we gaze upon this heroic figure the mute lips 



i6 

seem again to speak in the memorable words that are now immortal. 
We hear again the ringing sentences spoken in 1859 of the slave power: 

"Broken by it, I too, may be; bow to it, I never will. * * 

If ever I feel the soul within me elevate and expand to those dimen- 
sions not wholly unworthy of its almighty architect, it is when I con- 
template the cause of my country deserted by all the world beside, and 
I, standing up boldly and alone, hurling defiance at her victorious 
oppressors. Here, without contemplating consequences, before high 
Heaven and in the face of the world, I swear eternal fidelity to the 
just cause, as I deem it, of the land of my life, my liberty and my 
love." 

From the day of its dedication, October 15, 1874, until July 9, 
1895, the lyincoln Monument remained in the control of the National 
Monument Association. 

In 1874, after its dedication, John Carroll Power was made custo- 
dian, and continued in that position until his death in January, 1894. 
A sketch of the Lincoln Monument could not, in fairness, be written 
without paying a tribute to his faithfulness, zeal and love. He revered 
the nation's hero and gave to his last resting place the tenderest and 
most assiduous care. Much that is of interest in the history of this 
first decade of the existence of the monument has been written by his 
untiring pen that would otherwise have been lost. 

After the attempt was made to steal the body of President Lincoln, 
Mr. Power summoned to his aid, in 1880, eight gentlemen, residents of 
Springfield, who organized as the "Lincoln Guard of Honor." They 
were J. Carroll Power, deceased; Jasper N. Reece, deceased; Gustavus 
S. Dana; James F. McNeill; Joseph P. Lindley; Edward S. Johnson; 
Horace Chapin; Noble B. Wiggins, deceased, and Clinton L. Conkling. 
Their object was to guard the precious dust of Abraham Lincoln from 
vandal hands and to conduct, upon the anniversaries of his birth and 
death, suitable memorial exercises. 

During these years an admittance fee of twenty- five cents was re- 
quired of all visitors to the monument, and this small fee constituted a 
fund by which the custodian was paid and the necessary expenses of 
the care of the grounds defrayed. 

In the winter of 1894, in response to a demand voiced almost uni- 
versally by the press and the people of Illinois, the general assembly 
made provision for the transfer of the National Lincoln Monument 
and grounds to the permanent care and custody of the state. The new 
law puts the monument into the charge of a board of control, consist- 
ing of the Governor of the State, the State Superintendent of Public In- 
struction and the State Treasurer. 

July 9, 1895, Hon. Richard J. Oglesby, the President, the onl)^ sur- 
viving member of the original Lincoln Monument Association, turned 
over to the state, as represented by its chief executive. Governor Alt- 
geld, the deeds and papers relating to the monument and grounds. 
The governor received the trust on behalf of the state, pledging its 
faithfulness to the duty of guarding and caring for the last resting 
place of the illustrious dead. The commission appointed as custodian 
Edward S. Johnson, major of the veteran 7th Illinois Infantry and a 
member of the Lincoln Guard of Honor. The admittance fee is a 



17 

thing of the past and "To this Mecca of the people let all the people 
•come, bringing garlands of flowers, carrying away lessons of life. 
There is no shrine more worthy of a devotee, no academy of the porch 
or grove where is taught so simply and so grandly the principles of 
greatness. Strew flowers, but bear away the imprint of his life, the 
flower of manliness and the wreath of honor, "f 

In the two score years since the death of Abraham Lincoln the 
scars of war have healed, the peace and unity for which he prayed 
have been realized, and it seems fitting to bring this brief recital of his 
life and the story of the strife from which it is inseparable up to date 
with this glance at the present: 

"I have seen the new South! But I saw it not by the Potomac, 
nor by the Cumberland. I saw it by the shores of that peaceful lake 
whose waters are broad enough to carry the fleets of the world and 
deep enough to bury in its bosom all the hatred and all the sorrows of 
the past. I saw the new South, with her helmet on, bowing to the 
august Present. 

"She had not forgotten the Past, but was bravely giving herself 
to a welcoming Future. There is a great city in the North, known 
all over as the type of restless, eager, business activity. Behold, on 
one day every shop and store and factory was closed! The hum of 
trade was hushed! The pulse of traffic had ceased to beat! And all 
this was because Chicago, gathering her own dead to her heart, found 
room for the brothers who wore the gray. Longstreet and Lee and 
Hampton sat at her hearths while the bugle and the drum proclaimed 
the everlasting peace. 

' 'When the monument which marks the tomb of the Confederate 
dead at Oakwoods was dedicated, North and South marched together 
in streets thronged not with enemies but friends. 

"Remembering their own heroic dead, the North reverently un- 
covered while the South gave tears and flowers to her's. 

"The new South stood in line with the new North, and above 
them both towered a form brave, puissant, serene and free. It was 
THE New Nation."* 



*From George R. Peck's oration before the University of Virginia, June, 1895. 

tRev. Roswell O. Post's oration at the tomb of Lincoln, April, 1883. 

The compiler wishes to acknowledge indebtedness to J. G. Holland's Life of Lincoln. 



blast of God Lis form was seen. No other name will tlirill 
us like his. It is locked up with our tears in God. And time 
cannot rust these tilings which God takes. The day is break- 
ing. The herald comes with his beautiful feet iipon the moun- 
tains, declaring that the night is past. Abraham Lincoln's 
fame is secure. It is carved deep in the corner-stone of a re- 
generated country. These thoughts explain the greatness of 
our sorrow. The whole nation stood still when the President 
died. Love smote us speechless. We were all mourners. 
Words, we had none. We could only look up into the dark- 
ened skies in astonishment. Our hearts refused to be com- 
forted. This war has sent countless shafts of anguish through 
the land, but none like this. A dark shadow flitted over our 
households. A nameless agony sat down on our hearthstones. 
All business was suspended. Little children ran crying in the 
streets. Strong men bowed in uncontrollable grief. Columbia 
was in tears. There was wailing in all the borders thereof. 
The bells of God's temples sent up their clanging wail, and 
the priests of the Most High stood in tears by the altar. 
Sublimer than a nation in arms, was a nation in tears. What 
grander chariot could carry a hero to heaven than the mighty 
wings of a iiation's anguish. He bore the weight of oiu- sor- 
rows when living; he has borne up to God the weight of our 
love. And what can be the sorrows of the freed slaves? 
What bitter tears will they shed upon the tontb of the great 
Emancipator, IIow green will they keep the grass over his 
head. In their rude calendar the name of Abraham Lincoln 
stands next to that of God. God sent the war, and Lincoln 
broke the chains. No sorrow is like their sorrow. His prai- 
rie grave will be the Mecca of their hopes, whither millions of 
dusky freemen will go to catch fresh inspiration. In their 
hearts his name will bloom in immortal vigor. Everv dust 
over his head will be precious as pure gold. Oh ! what a glo- 
rious immortality ! In thinking of his life, we can truly say 
that he was a great man. Not great in learning and ability. 
But great in moral sentiment. Great in heart. Great in Ids 
unconsciousness. Even his familiar jokes were pointed with 



10 

ditiiaoiids. In all his public duties and tremendous responsi- 
bilities, he never got above the common people. W^'^^h vice 
all about him, he never lost his great manly heart. And his 
eve never beamed with a su1)linier goodness, and his heart 
never heaved M'ith a nr»l)ler impulse, than on the very day he 
was murdered. Tluit day his joyful eye looked over tlie South, 
and he longed to take them to the iiation's bosom. And when 
he was murdered tliey took the angel of mercy from between 
the cherubims. And what of his death? He died not for 
himself. He was the embodiment ot our new-born freedom. 
A new idea was born of this w^ar. An idea of freedom and 
glory. Mr. Lincoln was its head and exponent. It w^as not 
his life that was struck at. ISTo one could have had vengeance 
against him. They struck at the idea through him. They 
wanted to strangle the life of new^-born America. It was ha- 
tred against the child Jesus. It was the singing of the angels 
and the promise of the dawn that created a thirst for blood. 
Tluit pistol ball that smote the President was a shot at truth. 
That gleaming dagger w^as nieant for every man, woman and 
child in the land that loves the right. Poor fools, to think 
that they could stop the rush of giant forces. That they could 
l>luck up the seeds which God has x^lanted. That they could 
blunt the sword of justice when God had polished it with 
blorxl. That they could obstruct the way of the nation, as she 
marched with a proud heart and firm step after the martial 
drum beat of her destiny. ! what despicable folly ! The 
President dies, but the Kepuhlic lives. They might have de- 
strf>yed an empire, where one man is the nation. But a na- 
tion where every num is President, cannot be destroyed. The 
crowns that God gives, no man can take away. God has 
crowned this nation with a new life — with a new glory. The 
heart of truth does not depend on llesh and blood. It is im- 
mortal as Jeho^^ah. It this war could not kill us, the gates of 
hell cannot prevail against us. Supposing that they could 
nnn-der every freeman in tlie land. Our American idea would 
not die. Supposing they should pick the bones of every hero 



11 

I'roiii our soil, juid cast them into tlie sea. Tnitli would live. 
Could tliey scrape up every particle of our laud, and strain 
every drop of patriot 1)lood out of it, and throNV it to the ^vinds, 
Liherty still lives I The very air has carried the inspiration 
of this war around the globe. The souls of martyrs have 
borne it up to God. You must dethrone Jehovah, l^efore you 
can behead lil)erty. What abject nonsense to strike at a gi- 
gantic idea with a pistol ball. TIow many think that the truth 
will suffer by the death of Mr. Lincoln ? It may suffer, but it 
cannot be laid in the tomb with him. While we had confi- 
dence in his ability, and should have rejoiced to have had him 
lived till the grand consunmiation, yet his life was not essen- 
tial to the truth. Any cause is superlati\'el_y weak that de- 
pends upon the life of one man. It was the time and manner 
of his death that so mightily depressed tlie mition. We had 
just shouted "hosannah." Victory was won. We heard the 
angels singing peace. But before the magic strains of our 
joy had reached heaven, a minor was heard. The chieftain 
fell, where the drums were Ideating. Three days before Jesus 
was slain, he rode into Jerusalem amid shouting hosannas. 
and palm 1) ranches throwii in the way. But O ! wliat a sliock 
to Ms disciples was his tragical death, following so soon ! All 
their hopes were carried to tlie graA^e with. him. But truth 
never was so strong as when Jesus was sleeping in the tomb. 
It was a giant at sleep. America was never so mighty as 
when Abraham Lincoln breathed his last. As he slowly 
breathed out his last, God breathed o'er all our mountains. 
As his life's blood flowed down, an invisible power flowed into 
our hearts. It was a power born of calamity. It was the 
consecration of sacrifice. Fear not, then, O Patriot ! Old 
battle clouded Columbia is safe. God, whom the winds obey, 
holds us in his palms. The new soul Mdiich our father-land 
has, shall persevere. Our struggling faith shall triumph 
Poor, impotent, revengeful savages may starve our heroes, anc 
assassinate our chieftains, but the car of our hopes is headec^ 
forward, and onward is the watchword of heaven. The wratl 
t)f men shall become only praise. 



12 

Mr. Lincoln fell a victim to slavery. His death was the 
last stroke of the expiring rebellion, as wlien a storm having 
spent its power, sends hack a fitful stream of lightning into 
the clear sky. It was the fearful throe of d^dng desperation. 
Hell was mad because the feet of heroes was heard on South- 
ern soil. Because the shouts of freemen mingled with the 
roar of Southern forests. Because the old flag was borne tri- 
umphantly aloft, without a star dropped out of its glorious 
constellation. Because the great abolitionist walked the streets 
of the tyrant. These signs of victory, and of a nation's dis- 
enthrallment, were more than the spirits of darkness could 
stand. Gathering up all their spite and hellish fury, they 
poured it out on the nation's head. No matter who nnirdered 
Mr. Lincoln^t will ever stand charged to slavery. Because 
it was the spirit born of slavery. It was no more than it has 
done. A system that will brutalize men and women, is ripe 
for any crime. Slavery is tlie hot-bed of every damnable 
thing. It breeds unheaixi of things in the calendar of crime. 
And now it stands before us in all its appalling horrors. God 
has painted the tyrant on the heavens. Any man now that 
justifies slavery is guilty of the blood of Mr. Lincoln. Be- 
cause it is plainly manifest who did it. The cement of fugi- 
tive slave bills will no more hold. The blood of patriot's has 
dissolved the glue. The great soul of this nation now de- 
mands that slavery shall forever die. But O ! what a crisis 
have we passed ! ^ow absolutely necessary was this war. It 
came not a moment too soon. For in a few years more of 
prosperity, slavery would have placed its foot upon every 
threshold in the land, and set its cursed heel on every inch of 
our public domain. It is the very nature of crime to spread 
or die. Z^ell must have new victims, or consume with its own 
fires. O ! think where we should have been if slavery had 
triumphed ! We shudder even at the contemplation ! Such 
barbarity, such crimes does it bring. We stand in view of 
the facts in breathless astonishment. What dangers have we 
escaped ! In comparison, has the blood of our boys been 
j^Tiy thing — have our paltry sacrifices been anything? Better, 



13 

far better, that a wliole generation sliould have perished, and 
our hills should have be^n washed down with patriot blood» 
than that this curse should have been allowed to conquer '. 
Behold the goodness of God in this war ! "We never knew 
what slavery was until God smote its carcass with his sword, 
and revealed to us its corruption. All dionor to those men 
who first opposed slavery. Who stood as a wall of adamant 
against it. Who created public sentiment. In the years to 
come, the grandest honor a child can have will be that its 
father or grand-father was an abolitionist. Tlie names of 
Love joy, Torrey, and Lincoln will shine tlie brightest stars in 
our national firmament. Hence it was not set of men that 
made this war. 

There were moral forces driving on the embattled hosts. 
Men were mere puppets in the hands of great forces for good, 
or evil. It is the battle of liberty where God himself led the 
hosts of truth. Mr. Lincoln is dead. He bears the responsi- 
bilities of a nation's cares no more. He carries no more the 
load of the nation's sorrows. He lived long enough to see the 
rock of our hope strong amid the swaying billows. God took 
him up into the mount and showed him the future blessedness 
of the country. He looked over the sunny South, and saw 
the fruits of liberty hanging on every bough. He heard the 
songs of freemen, as they went forth to their peaceful toil. 
He saw tlie tribes of every tongue gathered under the fair folds 
of our flag of beauty. And over all, he saw the city of the 
great King rising in the midst of the scene. When' he had 
caugjit a glimpse of this prophetic future, God took him to 
himself On the very day he died, our flag was raised over 
the spot where the war began, without the loss of a star. 
Grand unity of our country's destiny. Our words are una- 
vailing — but the future will do Abraham Lincoln justice. En- 
joy thy repose, illustrious President. We will catch up thy 
niantle, and declare by Him that sitteth on the throne that 
we will protect freedom in this land, and never desert that 
cause which you cemented with your blood. Over thy hal- 
lowed grave freemen shall gather and shake hands in ever- 



14 

lasting friendship. Strangers shall flock to thy resting place, 
and drink in the inspiration of thy heroic deeds. And chil- 
dren's children shall visit thy, tomb, and there consecrate them- 
selves to liberty and to God. Heroes and patriots of all lands 
shall stand over thy repose, and unite their tears, and unite 
their praises. Let us all be faithful to the mighty trusts that 
rest upon ns. We have a God, vehom no danger can reach, 
and cherubic legions guard oilr beloved land. As the flag of 
our nation was raised over Fort Sumter on that sad Friday, 
so let us raise tlie banner of the Lord God of hosts. Let us 
all bend our energies to the mighty work. Let us consecrate 
all our ]>owers to the salvation of our country, till this blood- 
bought land shall be clothed, and in her right mind, sitting at 
the feet of Jesus. 




